This is a delightful mystery with fun characters, a plot with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end and delicious food that will leave your mouth watering. Lucy Berberian left her job as a patent attorney and returned to her home of Ocean Crest to work in her family's restaurant, the Kebob Kitchen. They restaurant has taken a catering job, catering the wedding of local socialite and celebrity Scarlet Westwood. During the reception the inebriated best man, Henry Simms, comes into the kitchen looking for more alcohol, and is accosted by Lucy's head chef who is also her former (and perhaps future) boyfriend, Azad. When Henry is found dead in the catering van, with a kebob holder embedded in his neck Azad becomes the prime suspect. So Lucy and her intrepid best friend Katie set out to investigate and make sure Azad is not framed for the crime. This book held my interest all the way through, the story flows and there are enough suspects to keep you guessing. It's filled with good friends, family and delicious food - it's a definite winner.

Stabbed in the Baklava by Tina Kashian is the second installment of the cozy Kebab Kitchen Mystery series. At the center of this series is Lucy Berberian who returned to her hometown along the Jersey shore and has taken over the family business of running their Mediterranean restaurant.

Things have been going well for Lucy after she successfully solved a murder right after returning home. She’s hired her ex-boyfriend Azad to work as the chef at the restaurant and the customers have been steadily coming in so when offered a chance to cater a big wedding Lucy refuses to admit they really don’t have the experience and is determined to make it happen.

Of course catering a high society wedding is not without difficulties but Lucy and her crew feel they’ve done splendidly when the party is winding down. That is until Lucy and Azad find a dead body in the back of the catering van. When the police begin looking at Azad as a suspect Lucy is determined to set the story straight and find the real killer.

Unfortunately I find myself lowering my rating a bit for this second book of the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series. I found the first book a solid mystery read with likable characters but simply lacking that extra bit of quirkiness that I truly love so I still enjoyed them but what I don’t remember is a love triangle in the making.

Now I know that when the lead is a single woman there may tend to be a bit of romance and that’s perfectly fine but I prefer it kept to one man and in the background of the story. In this one Lucy’s dating life seemed pushed all throughout with the ex a suspect and another man she may or may not be interested in so I wasn’t a huge fan of it. Still enjoyed the setting and Lucy as a lead especially when she’s with her best friend but hopefully the “you need a man” will be dropped next round.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book. I instantly clicked with the characters and liked the author's style of writing. The storyline is engaging and fun. Lucy is a former lawyer who moved back to south New Jersey and took over her parents' Greek restaurant. A celebrity is marrying a local who asked that the wedding be catered by Lucy's restaurant. This is a wonderful opportunity for the restaurant but, as in all cozy mysteries, things don't quite go as planned. The groom ends up dead and the prime suspect is Lucy's head chef and former boyfriend. I read another review that described this book as "clever and charming" and I have to agree.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was glad to see this one available and it's a great continuation from the last one. The author has wonderfully developed the setting, characters, and storyline with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. So glad I got to read this one, I enjoyed it completely.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review. I liked this book. It's a good addition to the cosy mystery genre, complete with recipes at the end. The heroine is a former lawyer, now running her family Kabob restaurant in a small beachside town on the East Coast. The chef is her (many years earlier) former boyfriend. She has a sister and parents who are still working at the restaurant, as well as friends to lend a hand. This mystery surrounds her first large catering event - a tabloid superstar's wedding to a man who loves the food of her restaurant. At the wedding, an obnoxious member of the wedding party is skilled, by shish kabob skewer. This obviously implicates the restaurant and our heroine, with her best friend, realizes she has to step in to solve the mystery and protect her staff. The story is well written, the pacing is good, the characters are believable and enjoying. This is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone. Nice cosy mystery for a day at the beach (or your favorite vacation spot).

This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites! I love everything about this book, the setting, the characters, and the food! This author does a great job with setting tone in the story and picking up where she left off in the previous book so the reader isn't flailing around lost. The mystery was fantastic, gripping, with so many little twists added to really keep the reader engaged. I cannot wait to read more in this series and more from this author. I find myself wanting to read the story again and again to see if I missed anything, it was that good! The recipes at the end are definitely the syrup on top of the baklava for this book!